4.4 – Fumiko's POV
A short walk away from the castle, there is an open field, with the size of about six baseball stadiums.
From what I heard, it has been used since ancient times as a training field for summoned heroes. It's the same this time too.
Every day, from morning until evening, many magical explosions and physical confrontations went by, turning the field into a dreaded land of barren earth, filled with several craters.
However, if you came by early morning, before the training started again for the day, you could find a beautiful even field, filled with multicolored grass.
Today, once again, the two of us are the first ones to arrive.
"It must suck to be a gardener here, huh?" I say randomly, striking a conversation.
"Y-you shouldn`t say such things about other people`s jobs, Fumiko..." He responds in a weak voice, timid even.
Our training began in the afternoon of the day we were summoned. It has barely been a week; however, the two of us already have to come here earlier than the others. Not because we`re model students mind you, but rather because we're shitty at it and are already falling behind.
He continues.
"And even though you say that now, I'm sure you don`t actually mean it. I saw the way you smiled to yourself after we talked to the gardeners yesterday and heard that they like their jobs and are paid pretty well..."
"… I still think it must be a pain in the ass, though."
His name is Owari. And ever since we got to this world, we've become something like friends.
"Good morning. Should we begin today's training?"
A veteran warrior approaches us from behind. Despite his gentle tone, the severity inherent to his voice transpires gravely.
"Sup' Mr. Brownie." "Gah---! G-good Morning, Mr. Brownie!" Owari, who had been sitting down so far, quickly stands up, failing to conceal his surprise.
He hadn't noticed Mr. Brownie approaching from behind, and I didn't warn him either.
"Did you already forgot what I told you yesterday, Owari? Always pay attention to your surroundings. Besides, my name isn't Brownie… It's Borauni."
"What? No! But... Fumiko! Why didn't you tell me when you saw him approach!?"
"It seemed to be funnier this way." I say with half a smile plastered on my face.
"Whaaaat!!!???"
Owari makes some funny expressions when he gets nervous. I laugh at him.
"The both of you have simply ignored my comment about my name, haven't you…?"
…
…
…
"*Harf!* *Harf!* I-I can't run anymore…"
Owari falls to the ground, with an exaggerated movement.
"Oy oy, you only just ran 500 meters at most... And you were running in a very slow pace to booth. Just how much of a sedentary were you?" I reprimand him.
"*Harf---!* 500 meters… Is that a lot…?"
"Yeah, a lot of bullshit. For comparison, I`m about 1.5 meters tall---"
"Hey, you both cut it out! Don't distract yourselves with small talk during training… It's okay kid, if you can't run anymore then take a break to recover your energies. Just don't forget to do push-ups while resting."
"A-again!? Ugh… O-Okay!"
"Hmmm... Does it even count as resting then---? Whoa!!!" I quickly duck as a training wooden sword whooshes over me, almost taking off my head along with.
"You too, Fumiko! Pay attention! Never lose your concentration during a swordfight!"
"How can we even call this a sword fight, when I'm stuck with this… Freaking Shield!!!" Soon after ducking, I spring myself into a jumping uppercut/shield bash.
However, Mr. Brownie simply twists his body slightly in order to move out of my way. Moreover, during this small frame while my arms are pointed towards the sky, he firmly grabs hold of my waist and bends his body backwards.
"Hah!"
"A german suple---?! Gheee!!!"
"Wow!"
Once again, my arms could not protect my face from a direct encounter with the ground, and my upper body is thrust inside the earth…
Even though I was thrown with an amount of force easily capable of breaking someone's neck, I wasn't surprised that it didn't hurt too much.
Not only did Mr. Brownie hold back against me. This shield in my arm, as well as my reinforcement with expression, also protected me from most of the impact… Not only that, after a rigorous analysis with my head, I noticed that the dirt in the training ground is softer than that of other places.
If this training has served for anything so far, it's for the fact that I`ve already gotten used to being beaten up like this…
"Sloppy! Not only did you get distracted during the fight, but you even used such a risky technique!? Your balance was completely broken and you even left your entire upper body exposed! If this were a real fight, then you would have been immediately cut in half! If not worse!"
Really? It could have gone even worse than being cut in half…?
"Yeah… Sorry, Mr. Brownie…"
"Your performance during training is directly related to how you'll do in actual battle. The muscle memory you build here will manifest itself out there. So learn with your mistakes and keep moving forward! Besides, if you're truly sorry, then please remember that my name isn't Brownie, its Borauni…"
"Next time, I might try to add a spinning kick as a follow up!"
"No, that's beside the point… In the first place, you shouldn't provide the enemy with such a gap in your defenses… Owari! If you have the time to laugh, then I believe you've rested enough! Go on, back to running!"
This is what I like about Mr. Brownie. He might seem a little rigid sometimes, but he really does care about us. When he gives us a scolding, he always makes sure to explain the reason and how to improve…
Much different from that 'commander'. Every time I've looked her in the eyes, I felt as if---
What does she even think about while looking at us…?
"Fumiko! What did I just tell you!?"
Once again, I duck as a sword comes swooshing over my head. And immediately after I do an uppercut, which he easily avoids.
This time, however, I add a surprise spinning kick in sequence! Which he also avoids easily.
Maybe doing exactly what I told him I was going to do next wasn`t such a bright idea…
"Oh, Crap…"
"Hah!"
This time, he grabs my extended leg and pulls it upwards. Then, he grabs my waist and holds me with my legs facing the sky, finishing me with a pile driver.
I end up making another hole in the ground…
"You really shouldn`t try pulling a surprise move, right after announcing it…"
"Pointh thakennn…"
I think some dirt just entered my mouth…